Crimes of Cupidity (Heart Hassle Book 3)

My eyes blink open and I see four shadowed figures above me. Is something glowing? I blink again, letting my eyes adjust, and my vision clears enough to see my four mates staring down at me.

There’s a collective sigh that escapes each of their mouths, and then Evert is cupping my face, looking stern. “Don’t you ever fucking do that again.”

He sounds angry, but I can see the fear in his eyes.

I move to sit up, and Sylred and Okot help me manage it. I look around, seeing that I’m in an unfamiliar room. The bed is large and trimmed with white and gold embellishments. The stone floor is polished, but the painted walls are somewhat tarnished with age. There’s an open window at my right, and I can hear birds singing to the dawn.

Okot sees the question in my eyes and says, “You’re in my home,” he explains. “You’ve been here for three days.”

“The bonds,” I say, my throat scratchy from disuse. “They pulled me back to you. I felt it.”

Sylred nods. “Remember what Plik and Plak said? Your life is tied to ours. You don’t die without us.”

I nod slowly, trying to catch up. My mind whirls with memories, and when I start remembering the battle, my eyes shoot up to Ronak.

“Belren?”

The guys exchange a look, and then slowly, Ronak shakes his head. “He was dead on impact.”

“No.” My hand covers my mouth in shock. I can’t believe he jumped in front of Lex and took the prince’s blast.

“I’m sorry.”

“Where is she?” I ask.

“She’s here,” Sylred answers, knowing I’m asking about Lex. “I’ll go get her.”

He disappears out of the room, and even though I’m afraid of the answer to my next question, I have to ask it.

“The prince. Did I…?”

“You did,” Evert says with pride. “You killed that asshole with a Love Arrow straight through his fucking heart. Poetic justice if you ask me.”

Ronak adds, “Genfins burned his body and dumped his charred corpse off the edge of the island. A ritual of disgrace for his acts against faekind.”

I run a hand through my hair, but even though I’ve been flung around and then stuck in a bed for three days, my fingers don’t get caught on any tangles. I have a feeling my sweet Okot tended to me while I was out.

“The prince is finally dead. But what about the king?”

“Dead, too. They found him in the crops. He drained himself by using too much magic.”

I’m glad they’re dead, but I don’t feel any real sense of relief. Instead, I just feel tired.

“And the princess?”

“She’s gone,” Ronak answers with an angry shake of his head. “There are scouts looking for her, but she’s nowhere to be found. The brownies left with her, and we’re almost positive she took the female, Benicia with her.” Ronak runs a hand over his beard. “That bastard Chaucel is unaccounted for, too.”

Part if me is furious with the princess for betraying us. And yet, another part is sympathetic to her, because I felt how much she loved that female fae, and who knows what I would have done in her shoes? If the prince had my mates, I might have betrayed the rebellion, too. You’ll do a lot of things for the ones you love. Even bad things. Good people are capable of bad choices, just like bad people are capable of good. There is no certainty when it come to individuals.

“Who’s running the kingdom?” I ask.

“Well, there were no other crowned heirs. A few high fae nobles have attempted to take the throne, but the rebellion shot them down. There’s to be a vote held soon.”

Well that’s good. Hopefully the next monarchs will be less…psychotic.

“Has the mind-control worn off yet for the rest of the soldiers?”

“It’s getting there. More and more come out of the fog every day. Until it’s completely worn off, we have people watching them.”

“A lot of fae died.”

It’s not a question, because I don’t have to ask. I know that there was a lot of death. A lot of unnecessary death. If the prince hadn’t been such a needy sociopath, none of this would have happened.

When Sylred returns with Lex in tow, the guys gracefully bow out, giving me privacy. She’s dressed in the most modest fae clothing I’ve ever seen. The neckline to her dress goes all the way up to her throat, and the bottom flares out from the waist and ends in some frills at her ankles. Her hair is sleek and straight as usual, swung up in a perfect ponytail. She has all the elements of her usual perfect, cupid self.

Except for her eyes.

I take in the puffiness around them that tells me about her tears. I see the dark circles under her eyes and know that she hasn’t slept. I notice the bloodshot lines reaching for her irises like they’re trying to leech the color out.

The brave face she puts on for me breaks my heart. Without warning, I stand and then pull her into a hug. She freezes for a moment, and I wonder if this is the first time she’s ever been touched.

“Lex?” I ask, pulling away. I don’t want to push her, but I wish she would talk to me so I can know what she’s feeling.

She barely meets my eyes before dropping her gaze to the floor. “He jumped in front of me,” she says, her tone full of confusion. “I don’t know why he did that.”

I shake my head. “He surprised me a lot,” I admit. “He tried to come across as this super mysterious thief who was only out for himself, but he wasn’t really.”

“He died,” she says flatly. “For me. I don’t understand.”

I give her a small smile. “Sometimes we don’t understand why people do the things that they do. But he did do it, and so all that I can do to honor his decision is be grateful to him for his sacrifice.” I reach down and grab her hand, squeezing it in mine. “And I am grateful, Lex. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

She gives me a watery smile, and then backs away, disentangling my hand from hers. “If you want some more time off…”

She shakes her head quickly. “No. Please. Send me back to the Veil. I have so much work to do. I’m behind on Love matches, my Arrow surplus, don’t even get me started on the Flirt Touch deficit. I also am severely neglecting my Cupid Of The Month goals, not to mention I’m not sure Sev should be left to his own devices for much longer…”

She’s all business now, putting on the professional cupidity mask. I want to insist she takes more time to process, but I can see that she needs this. She needs to stay busy, so I nod.

“Okay. Do you want to go tonight, or—”

“Now,” she cuts me off quickly. Realizing her jumpiness, she takes a breath and smooths down her dress before clearing her throat. “Now, please, Madame Cupid.”

With a nod, I push her back into the Veil, and then I’m left alone with pink smoke to keep me company, hoping that I’ve done the right thing.